Secession Era Editorials Project

No Title

Charleston, South Carolina, Mercury [Democratic]

(18 October 1859)

Our despatches this morning give us some particulars of a serious outbreak
among the employees on the government works at Harper's Ferry, Virginia,
in which the negros, led on by some infuriated abolitionists, have been
forced to co-operate. The trains were stopped and telegraphic wires cut,
and, as the despatch informs us, the whole town was in possession of the
insurgents. It will be seen, however, that the most active means have been
put into execution to quell the disturbance; that several companies of
artillery and infantry have proceeded to the scene, and, no doubt,
before this reaches the eye of our readers, perfect quiet has been again
established. We regret, however, that our telegraphic agent closed his
reports so early, as it would have been exceedingly gratifying to learn
that the miserable leaders of this unfortunate and disgraceful affair had
received their just deserts.

This document was produced as part of a document analysis project
by Lloyd Benson, Department of History, Furman University.
(Proofing info: Entered and proofed by Lloyd Benson.)
This electronic version may not be copied, or linked to, or otherwise used for commercial purposes, (including textbook or publication-related websites)
without prior written permission. The views expressed in this
document are for educational, historical, and scholarly use only,
and are not intended to represent the views of the project contributors or
Furman University.